She took a notebook out of her bag, and a pink paper fluttered to the floor. I picked it up, but she snatched it out of my hand before I saw what was on it. So of course I grabbed it back and held it out of her reach so I could read it. She should have known that was coming. I’d been pulling that move forever.
“VVU homecoming court.” I grinned at her. “What’s this about?”
I let her take back the paper, and she immediately shoved it in her bag. “It’s nothing.”
Oh, Ziz. Sometimes for as smart as she was, she could be dumb. If her dismissive retort hadn’t given her away, her pink cheeks would have.
I laughed. “Aw, is my little Ziz going to be a princess?”
Her nostrils flared, a sure sign I’d struck a nerve. Interesting. She was easygoing about almost everything. As much as she’d hung around Roman and me growing up, she’d quickly developed a thick skin.
“It’s homecoming queen, not princess. And why is that funny?”
I shrugged. “You’re not a homecoming court kind of girl.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Shit. She was still flaring her nostrils. I’d done it now. Abort! Abort!
“It’s super girly.”
If looks could kill, I would be six feet under. So much for aborting. But what I’d said was true. She’d played field hockey in high school and was the type of person who would much rather be playing on the field than strutting across it.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I am a girl.”
I’d definitely noticed. Too much. I shouldn’t appreciate how sexy she looked in those glasses, and I really shouldn’t have gotten a hard-on the other night when her tits rubbed against me while she was drunk. This was Zizzo, Roman’s little sister. My job was to scare off other guys. The trouble was I was the one who needed a good ass-kicking for the thoughts I’d had recently. But hell, she’d played with my nipples. I wasn’t necessarily into that, but any red-blooded male would react.
She was still glaring at me.
“Yes, you are,” I agreed. It seemed like the safest response.
She ripped her hair tie free, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders. If this weren’t Zizzo, I would think she was pulling a cheap move to show just how feminine she could be. But it was Zizzo, and it pained me to say the move worked. She tossed her head to throw her hair over her shoulder, creating a scene that would fulfill any adolescent boy’s naughty librarian fantasy.
Christ. I hoped they fixed the dry air problem in the engineering building soon so she could get back to wearing contacts. If she pulled that move around all those engineering nerds, one of them was bound to jizz in their pants. Hell. Who am I kidding? I was liable to as well.
“The other WIE girls want me to represent us on the court.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“It just doesn’t seem like your thing.” Ziz had never been into traditionally girly stuff. She’d been happy to hang out with Roman and me throughout high school. While she’d had some girlfriends, she’d never been particularly close to any of them.
She met my gaze, and I couldn’t figure out what was going through her head. I knew Ziz better than anyone else at VVU, and the Ziz I knew would never want to be on homecoming court. I didn’t understand what was going on here.
“I’m going to do it.”
“Okay,” I said slowly.
“I’m going to do it,” she repeated, nodding like she was still talking herself into it. What the hell? Just why? The experience would probably be miserable for her. But from the expression on her face, I knew it was something I wouldn’t be able to talk her out of. Ziz was stubborn once she made up her mind.
“Okay,” I said again. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Tell your friends to vote for me, I guess.”
“I’ll tell everyone I know.”
“On second thought, just tell guys. Not girls.”
“Why?”
“Do you have any friends who are girls?”
I frowned. “Besides you?” I had to think. I considered Rachel my friend, but she’d only gained that status because she was dating Jake. I also considered Katie a friend for the same reason. But there was no one else. I wasn’t the type of guy who was friends with girls. I was too busy sleeping with them.
God, I’m a dick. At least I was an honest dick, though.
“Just stick to your friends,” she instructed. “Usually the girls you associate with aren’t too fond of me.”
My frown deepened. “What do you mean?”
She stared at me like I should be able to figure it out on my own. “It’s just a vibe I get.”
It was true that whenever I was with a girl and Ziz was around, the girls seemed to get annoyed. But that was their problem, not mine. I wouldn’t apologize for my friendship with Zizzo.
I grinned. “Is it okay if I call you Queen Ziz?”
“It very much is not.”
Damn.
CHAPTER 5
Becca
I USHERED THE last of the freshman girls out of the room, declining their offer to help clean up after the pizza party. There wasn’t much to do, but besides that, I was done peopling. I was introverted to my core, and meeting new people—even ones cut from the same cloth as me—wore me out.
Given how tired I was after this one event, I was seriously second-guessing my decision to apply for homecoming court. I didn’t know exactly what it entailed, but I imagined it involved meeting lots of people and maybe campaigning. I couldn’t back out now, though. Hanima had already announced it to the incoming freshman WIE members, and I had to admit that it had been gratifying to see how excited they were. More than that, though, it made me happy that I would be raising money for a good cause.
Hanima was gathering the used paper plates. “Are there any more trash bags?”
“Here.” Nicole handed her one then peeked inside a pizza box. “Man, we have an entire pizza left. Cold pizza for breakfast. Yum.”
I wrinkled my nose. Gross. If pizza was meant to be eaten cold, the pizza places would deliver it that way.
Courtney tossed the paper towel she’d been using to wipe the tables into the trash. “I hate to leave you with the mess, but is it okay if I go? I have an assignment due tomorrow.” She had arrived an hour before us to get everything set up.
“We got this,” I told her. “See you later.”
“Don’t forget the court application is due tomorrow.” Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Courtney gave me a stern look.
“I already said I’d do it.”
“I know.” She sounded skeptical, which was probably why she and Hanima had made the announcement only seconds after I confirmed I would do it—they didn’t want to leave me any time to back out. They should know me better than that. Once I said I would do something, I followed through.
Though I could understand my friends’ surprise when I’d agreed. Being on the homecoming court would put me way out of my comfort zone. The thought of walking on the field in front of thousands of people made my palms slick. But there was no point worrying yet. Chances were I wouldn’t make it past the application phase. Part of me was hoping for that. It would only be a mild embarrassment since the only people who knew I was applying were my friends, the freshman WIE girls, and Carson.